Zelkova Wrote:I am looking for assistance with identifying the BEST parts for my money.
Things I want help with distinguishing would be like...
-Is buying AMD's bulldozer worth the money? Would it be wiser to just buy a Phenom II? How about an quad i7 gen 2?
-Graphics cards are a plus. I know that Eos bought a really fancy one recently. (Can't find the post easily, I am at work). Would it be wiser to crossfire with some cheaper cards than 1 really good one?
What is your current budget?:
$2000ish, this is MOSTLY theoretical.
What part are you looking for? Why do you need it?:
The whole shebang. I am looking to replace my old desktop I built in high school.
What parts are in your current computer? Be as specific as possible. Links to Newegg/Tigerdirect are best. If you have a pre-built, include the make and model.
This will be built from scratch. I am using Amazon to purchase parts. (Good SP referral credit, yeah?).
How do you intend to use this new part or new computer? What's the heaviest load it's likely to encounter?
Probably rendering video.
If you live anywhere other than the United States, please indicate your country.
What are you looking for in a case? What peripherals do you need? Are you going to require purchase of an OS? Does the budget include monitor? Are you going to be gaming on it?
Sans monitor, peripherals, and OS. Half of this is probably not on amazon, but if you're really set on amazon only then there are definitely alternatives.
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($81.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($178.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($115.21 @ eCost)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($83.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3GB Video Card ($539.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($165.68 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AL/BSBS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1714.31
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-08 04:04 EST-0500)